EMI Wins Injunction Over Beatles Tracks

Songs by The Beatles have been pulled from the internet after record label bosses at EMI won a temporary injunction against a U.S. website for allegedly selling the tracks without permission.

A copyright violation lawsuit was filed at a Los Angeles court on Tuesday to prevent the sale of “unauthorized content” after Bluebeat.com allegedly began offering Beatles’ tracks for download at discounted prices.

The Fab Four’s music is not licensed for internet downloads, and last year Sir Paul McCartney announced he would like to see the band’s songs available on Apple’s iTunes store, but admitted negotiations had “stalled”.

Executives at EMI, the company that owns the Beatles’ recordings, need to agree to a deal with the surviving bandmates and Apple Corps before the catalog can be made available online.

Now Bluebeat.com has been banned from streaming or selling tracks by the band, as well as other EMI artists.

Website bosses claimed they were only selling re-recorded versions of the hits using a technology called “psycho-acoustic simulation”, but the judge ruled they did not have enough evidence to support the argument.

The case will go back to court on November 20.

Meanwhile, executives at the label hope to introduce The Beatles’ catalog online soon.

A spokesperson says, “Discussions between EMI and Apple Corps continue. EMI would love to see The Beatles’ music available in digital stores.”